Keep the Car Running Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Every night my dream’s the same
Same old city with a different name
Men are coming to take me away
I don’t know why, but I know I can’t stay


[Verse 2]
There’s a weight that’s pressing down
Late at night you can hear the sound
Even the noise you make when you sleep
Can’t swim across a river so deep


[Chorus]
They know my name cause I told it to them
But they don’t know where
And they don’t know when it’s coming, when it’s coming

[Verse 3]
There’s this fear I keep so deep
Knew its name since before I could speak, yeah, oh


[Chorus]
They know my name cause I told it to them
But they don’t know where
And they don’t know when it’s coming
Oh! when, but it’s coming
Keep the car running
[Verse 4]
If some night I don’t come home
Please don’t think I’ve left you alone
The same place animals go when they die
You can’t climb across a mountain so high
The same city where I go when I sleep
You can’t swim across a river so deep


[Chorus]
They know my name cause I told it to them
But they don’t know where
And they don’t know when it’s coming
Oh! when is it coming?
Keep the car running
Keep the car running
Keep the car running

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About

Genius Annotation

The 2nd track off Neon Bible is generally about not giving up, or, keeping the car running. Butler himself has noted the Orwellian references throughout. The song paints a picture in a dystopian land where commercialism and oppression rule, and the protagonist’s escape from it.

It’s hard not to be cynical about certain things. I just finished reading this George Orwell book, Why I Write, and he’s talking about England during World War II, the political culture. There are some criticisms he had of the left that hit me pretty hard. Not that I really consider myself left or right or whatever, but he was criticizing people who put down bravery. It really made a lot of sense to me. There’s this negative approach to the world, and I definitely find myself falling into that at times. He was just saying that patriotism and intelligence need to coexist, or else the world really goes to shit. I thought that was a powerful idea. Actual patriotism has to do with loving a place enough to try and improve it.
-Win Butler on A.V. Club

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